HOME OF Barbados’ oldest city, Port Ferdinand, the Arlington House Museum and popular Mullins beach, just to name a few, St Peter boasts an exciting host of tourist attractions.
From its friendly people to its breathtaking landscape, this northern parish is a source of pride for its ambassadors Travis Headley and Shemilia Lewis, who plan to defend the title at the Spirit Of The Nation show on November 22.
Sitting side by side at a dining table at Fisherman’s Pub in Speightstown, the pair noted that despite ups and downs, the Parish Ambassadors programme has been a worthwhile and character-building experience.
Headley, a 20-year-old lover of dogs, livestock and motorsports, and Lewis, a 23-year-old call agent who enjoys the beach, Internet and running; have a strong desire to give back to the community and inspire others.
Self-esteem
Since starting the programme in February, Lewis said one of her greatest achievements has been raising her self-esteem, which was one of the reasons she signed up.
“I wanted to make a change within myself and within my community. I also wanted to set an example for those yet to follow. I actually entered the programme for personal growth. I wanted to experience my limit . . . test my level of communication with various persons, including children and the elderly, and build my social skills,” she said.
“The night I received my call [from the Community Independence Secretariat] for the interview, my dad was in [the Queen Elizabeth Hospital]. I was sitting and waiting for my father to be seen and I was, like, ‘I’m not doing this [show]. I don’t know if my dad is going to leave me’, and it so happened that when I was named to represent the parish my dad was released from the hospital,” she said, noting that she decided to make her parents proud.
Headley, on the other hand, entered to build on the associate’s degree in sport management he is pursuing at the Barbados Community College (BCC).
“I just figured the programme would help complement my public speaking skills and I’ll be more confident on stage. Whereas if I pursue being a sport manager,
public speaking and speaking with others is something that will be necessary,” he explained.
Under the theme Community-Based Tourism, the ambassadors and their team came up with the project entitled Reimaging Our Gems: Diamonds Of The Rock, which was aimed at promoting the community.
He said: “St Peter is full of gems and diamonds. We already have it so we just take the initiative to go out and reimage [rebrand] it. For example, when we did our event, A Taste Of St Peter, in the St Peter churchyard, we basically reimaged the St Peter churchyard to hold [the event]. We’ve done that with our renowned chefs also in partnership with the PomMarine. That was our premier event and really made the peak for us.”
“We had really wonderful feedback and also in terms of the leading up, a lot of work has been done so we thank the contributors, the stakeholders because had not for them we would not have been able to pull off that event called Taste Of St Peter. Also the chefs and the students helped a lot in the planning so our thanks, hearts and gratitude go out to them,” Lewis added.
However, before the duo stirred up success, they noted that a major challenge they faced after launching the event at St Peter Alive was that many people did not understand what the event was about.
“Even with the Taste Of St Peter, everyone thought it was a breakfast, they thought it was a lunch or a grill-out. So getting persons to understand what we were doing with community-based tourism [was a challenge]. We took the initiative to step away from the fun day and so on and took food as community-based tourism. As long as you have food, you attract persons and food is St Peter’s stronghold. We grasp onto that and reimage it into an activity just like our theme,” Headley said, noting that this obstacle was overcome with the help of the general manager at Sandpiper, Russell Croney.
There may be glitz and glamour involved but competing in the show is serious business, according to the St Peter flag carriers, who offered stern words to anyone interested in participating in the programme.
“The Parish Ambassador programme is not a pageant. You have to work for what you want. The pageant is at the end when you just come and you show your costume. Before you get to that, you have to show you want to be there. If you’re not a strong person starting this programme, you will drop out,” Headley said.
